One of the current ultimate goals of orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) is the improvement of patients' health-related quality of life (HRQOL). The purpose of this study was to look at the effects of socioeconomic and demographic differences on the short-term and long-term HRQOL outcomes of OLT recipients. Three hundred three adult OLT recipients who were seen at the University of California Los Angeles were administered the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 36 (SF-36), the Chronic Liver Disease Questionnaire (CLDQ), and a demographic survey. A parsimonious model of 12 socioeconomic and demographic predictors was identified. Their simultaneous influence on each SF-36 and CLDQ HRQOL domain score was evaluated with multivariate linear regression and backward selection. Hepatitis C virus impaired HRQOL; this was shown in the SF-36 Vitality and Bodily Pain domains and in most CLDQ domains. Females experienced more HRQOL impairment only within the CLDQ Abdominal Symptoms domain. OLT recipients who were married had better SF-36 Role-Emotion domain scores. OLT recipients with more than 12 years of education had better SF-36 Physical Functioning scores. Employed OLT recipients had less HRQOL impairment; this was evidenced by better scores in multiple domains of the SF-36 and the CLDQ. OLT patients with health maintenance organization or preferred provider organization insurance had higher HRQOL scores within almost all SF-36 and CLDQ domains. Patients with a mix of public and private insurance had significantly higher HRQOL scores in comparison with those with only public insurance. Identifying patients at higher risk for worse HRQOL scores, less satisfaction with OLT results, and greater problems with fatigue or mental health stressors will assist transplant centers in using their medical teams to develop early interventions and multidisciplinary approaches to improve HRQOL outcomes after OLT. Liver Transpl 17:580-590, 2011. V C 2011 AASLD.Received May 1, 2010; accepted December 26, 2010.Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is a quantitative estimation of a patient's self-assessment of his or her physical, functional, social, and psychological dimensions of life. [1][2][3][4][5][6] It can be used to study a patient's perception of his or her health status and other nonmedical aspects of life. 3-6 Low HRQOL scores have been associated with increased utilization of health resources, increased costs, decreased patient satisfaction, and a failure to reintegrate patients with chronic medical conditions back into their daily functions within society. 7 HRQOL evaluations have become integrated into measurements of orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) outcomes. 2,8,9 These evaluations have become increasingly important as the shift in care has evolved from immediate posttransplant complications to longterm management care. 3,10-13 However, many studies have reported HRQOL findings for OLT recipients as a Additional Supporting Information may be found in the online version of this article.

These findings provide evidence there are 2 objective radiographic changes (central and posterior septal mucosa) that suggest ENS patients can be discriminated based on mucosal CT findings.

IMPORTANCEThe opioid epidemic has generated interest in optimizing opioid prescribing after common surgeries. Recent studies have shown a broad range of analgesic prescription patterns following endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS).OBJECTIVE To compare the efficacy of different analgesic regimens after ESS. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTSThis multi-institutional, nonblinded randomized clinical trial was conducted at 6 tertiary centers across the US and Canada and included participants who underwent ESS for acute or chronic rhinosinusitis. The study was conducted from March 2019 to March 2020, and the data were analyzed in November to December 2020.INTERVENTIONS All participants received acetaminophen, 650 mg, as the first-line analgesic. From there, patients were randomized to either oxycodone rescue (oxycodone, 5 mg, as second-line therapy) or ibuprofen rescue (ibuprofen, 600 mg, as second-line therapy, with oxycodone, 5 mg, reserved for breakthrough pain).MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Baseline characteristics and disease severity were collected at enrollment. Medication logs, pain scores, and epistaxis measures were collected until postoperative day 7. The primary outcome was the postoperative visual analog scale score for pain. Brief Pain Inventory Pain Severity and Pain Interference Scores were also collected. RESULTS A total of 118 patients were randomized (62 [52.5%] oxycodone rescue, 56 [47.5%] ibuprofen rescue; mean [SD] age, 46.7 [16.3] years; 44 women [44.0%]; 83 White [83.0%], 7 Black [7.0%], and 7 Asian individuals [7.0%]). After exclusions for loss to follow-up and noncompliance, 51 remained in the oxycodone rescue group and 49 in the ibuprofen rescue group. The groups had similar demographic characteristics and disease severity. Thirty-two (63%) in the oxycodone rescue group had adequate pain management with acetaminophen only, while 19 (37%) consumed at least 1 oxycodone dose. In the ibuprofen rescue group, 18 (16%) required only acetaminophen, 28 (57%) used only acetaminophen and ibuprofen, and the remaining 13 (26%) consumed 1 or more oxycodone doses. The groups had similar average acetaminophen (9.69 vs 7.96 doses; difference, 1.73; 95% CI, -1.37 to 4.83) and oxycodone (1.89 vs 0.77 doses; difference, 1.13; 95% CI, -0.11 to 2.36) use. Both groups had similar postoperative visual analog scale scores. A subanalysis that compared opioids users with nonusers showed clinically significant lower pain scores in nonusers at multiple postoperative points. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCEIn this randomized clinical trial, most patients who underwent ESS could be treated postoperatively using a nonopioid regimen of either acetaminophen alone or acetaminophen and ibuprofen. Ibuprofen as a second-line therapy did not reduce overall narcotic consumption, but the overall narcotic use was low in both groups.TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03783702

These results can help the Food and Drug Administration clarify whether tobacco products should be regulated as drugs with therapeutic purpose or as recreational products.

4. Laryngoscope, 127:2578-2581, 2017.